Her hand slid down my chest, over my stomach, and then lower—palming me through my jeans.
“Fuck,” I gasped against her mouth.
She smiled, working me through my jeans. I was already getting hard, and the friction combined with the look in her eyes was making it impossible to think straight.
“Emily—“
“What?” She squeezed—I had to brace one hand against the elevator wall. “You started it at that party. Walking around all protective and righteous.”
“That’s what did it for you?” My voice came out rough.
“That’s what did it for me.” She kissed me again, kept touching me until I was fully hard and straining against my jeans.
The elevator dinged. Fourth floor.
She pulled back, grinning at my obvious frustration, and grabbed my hand.
We hurried down the hall to her dorm.
She fumbled with her keys at her door, cursing under her breath when they dropped. I bent to pick them up, handed them to her, pressed a kiss to her neck while she finally got the door open.
The door swung open.
String lights stretched across the ceiling, casting everything in soft amber. Photos tacked to corkboard in uneven rows. Her bed buried under decorative pillows that served no actual purpose. The air smelled like her perfume—vanilla and something floral.
She stepped inside. I followed.
The door closed behind us with a soft click and she locked it.
I turned he to face me. Her chest rose and fell and her eyes were dark. Pupils blown wide. Want written across every feature—clear, uncomplicated, completely directed at me.
My heart kicked harder.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.”
She stepped closer, hands sliding up my chest. “It was so sexy watching you being the protector. You even blocked someone from hitting Alex.”
My chest lurched at the sound of his name from her lips. “What?”
“Some big guy wound up to hit him, and you just—“ She made a gesture, like pushing something away. “Stopped him even though he’s, like, your biggest rival.”
I tried to keep my face neutral. “Yeah.” I shrugged, tried to sound casual. “Pretty sure I was just reacting on instinct.”
Liar. You knew exactly who it was. You saw that fist coming at his face and you moved before you could think.
Emily made a noise, seemingly satisfied with my lie. Her hands slid to my shoulders, down my arms. “Well, it was hot. You being all protective, even in the middle of that mess.”
I swallowed. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She kissed me again, and I let it wash away the memory of Alex’s eyes meeting mine—that split second of shock and something else I thought ended at today’s race.
Emily broke the kiss, stepped back. Started pulling her shirt over her head. She was wearing a black lace bra, and the sight of her—curves and soft skin and the way she was looking at me—made everything else fade to white noise.
“You gonna just stand there?” she asked, smiling.
I crossed the distance between us in two steps. Kissed her hard, walking her backward until her legs hit the bed. She fell onto it with a laugh, and I followed her down, covering her body with mine.
